Stalin downplays Alagiri’s alleged ‘death’ remarks

Chennai: Making light of MK Alagiri's remarks on his ‘death’, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer MK Stalin on Wednesday has asked partymen not to burn effigies of his ‘elder brother’, saying party discipline is supreme.

"I don't want to take seriously what Alagiri said about me. Neither do I want to make it a big issue. All those who are born have to die one day," Stalin said.

A day after DMK president M Karunanidhi said that his elder son Alagiri had stated Stalin will die in three months and how could he tolerate that as a father, the Chennai-based leader said that the party patriarch would have been hurt in the same way, even if he had spoke bad about Alagiri.

"That's why he said that rather than being my sons they are party members," Stalin said in a statement in Chennai.

The party's well-being is important for Karunanidhi, who along with DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan is taking carefully planned decisions in this regard, he said.

"I regret coming across reports of some party comrades burning effigies of Annan (elder brother) Alagiri. This is unacceptable as it challenges political decency and is an effort at harming the discipline and dignity in the partybeing followed for long," he said.

The statement released by DMK headquarters was titled ‘Elder brother Alagiri's effigies should not be burnt; requests Treasurer Stalin’, and came a day after Karunanidhi's outburst against his elder son prompted party supporters to paste posters against him and burn his effigies in differentparts of the state.

Accusing Alagiri of nurturing ‘unknown hatred’ against his younger brother, Karunanidhi had stated that his Madurai-based son had even said that Stalin will die in three months.

"No father can tolerate such words against a son. As the party chief, I had to tolerate them," Karunanidhi said, even as the allegations were refuted by Alagiri.